Dec. 20, 2006
VALPARAISO, Ind. — For the second time in less than three weeks, Notre Dame pulled out a tough road victory with clutch free throw shooting in the final seconds. This time, senior guard Breona Gray (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman) was the hero, canning the first of two free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining to lift the Irish past Valparaiso, 60-59 on Tuesday night at the Athletics-Recreation Center in Valparaiso, Ind. It was the third consecutive win and fifth in the past six games for Notre Dame, although Tuesday’s victory was the closest for the Irish in the 20-game series with the Crusaders (of which Notre Dame has won each time out).
Junior guard Charel Allen (Monessen, Pa./Monessen) returned to double figures after a two-game absence, registering team highs of 18 points and eight rebounds, the latter total just one off her career best. Junior center Melissa D’Amico (Manorville, N.Y./William Floyd) chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds despite playing much of the second half in foul trouble. Off the bench, freshman guard Ashley Barlow (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) continues to provide a spark, contributing 12 points, six rebounds and a career-high-tying four assists at Valparaiso.
Betsy Rietema led all scorers with 22 points for the Crusaders, while Agnieszka Kulaga was the only other player in double digits for the hosts, scoring 10 points.
Playing its first road game since a memorable final-minute comeback win at Michigan on Dec. 1, Notre Dame (8-3) looked sluggish, turning the ball over on four of its first five possessions. However, as would be the case most of the night, the Irish relied on their defense to overcome their offensive shortcomings, forcing Valparaiso to miss 16 of its first 18 shots from the floor (a .111 field goal percentage). Barlow came in early and dropped in a pair of buckets to help ignite a 10-2 run that put Notre Dame in front, 15-7 just past the midway point of the first half.
Valparaiso (4-6) came back with eight unanswered points to level the score, but the Irish rebuilt their eight-point lead later in the period, going in front by a 28-20 count on Allen’s jumper with a minute to go. But, the Crusaders trimmed their deficit in half by the break, as Sarah Ott knocked down two free throws and Sanna Helenius beat the halftime horn with a baseline jumper.
Notre Dame tried again to break free with four of the first five points in the second half. And again, Valparaiso had a response, as Carrie Myers drained three-pointers on consecutive possessions and Rietema added a triple of her own to give the hosts their first lead since the opening minute of play, 36-35 with 14:24 left. Myers buried her third trey of the second half less than a minute later to give the Crusaders (as it turned out) their largest lead of the night at 39-37, but Gray came back with a three-pointer of her own, rattling in a bomb from the corner at the 13:06 mark to put the Irish in front.
Gray’s three sparked a 9-2 run, a spurt that Valparaiso countered with its own 8-2 charge, leaving the hosts back in the lead by a scant 49-48 margin with 8:26 remaining. However, on the next trip down, Allen found all cotton on her 15-foot jumper and Notre Dame never trailed again. Still, the Irish couldn’t quite shake the pesky Crusaders, leading 57-53 inside the final two minutes when Rietema single-handedly brought her team back with six consecutive points, hitting a foul shot and a transition layup, then following D’Amico’s putback with an old-fashioned three-point play that knotted the score at 59-all with 25.3 seconds left.
Notre Dame called timeout before Rietema’s tying free throw, setting up its play for the final possession. The initial look was to go to Allen, but when the Valparaiso defense collapsed on her, the lanky Irish wing smartly found a cutting Gray on the right block and Crusader forward Aimee Litka could do nothing but commit the foul to prevent an uncontested layup with 1.2 seconds to go. Gray then stepped to the stripe, made her first charity, and then after Valparaiso burned its final timeout, she missed her second free throw, allowing the Crusaders no chance to get a shot off.
Notre Dame will take the next eight days off for the Christmas holiday before getting back into action on Thursday, Dec. 28 when it plays host to Prairie View A&M at 4 p.m. (ET) at the Joyce Center. Tickets remain available for that game and may be purchased through the Irish Athletics Ticket Office (574-631-7356), via the official Notre Dame athletics web site by clicking here or on game day at the Gate 10 ticket windows in the Joyce Center.
— ND —
POST GAME NOTES: Coming into Tuesday night’s game, Breona Gray had attempted just two foul shots inside the final five minutes of a game this season — and she had missed them both … three times this season, Notre Dame has had a player step to the line in the final four seconds of regulation or overtime with the game in her hands, and she has come through every time (Ashley Barlow 2-2 FT with 3.8 seconds left in OT vs. Bowling Green; Tulyah Gaines 2-2 FT and Charel Allen 2-2 FT in final 3.3 seconds at Michigan; Breona Gray 1-2 FT with 1.2 seconds left at Valparaiso) … Notre Dame has won five of its last six games against Valparaiso by 10 points or less, including its last three visits to northwest Indiana … the Irish have been responsible for three of the Crusaders’ 14 home losses (in 69 home games) in the past six seasons … Notre Dame goes into the Christmas break on a winning note for the 11th consecutive season … the Irish have held four of their last five opponents to less than 60 points after not doing so once in their first six games of the year … Notre Dame limited Valparaiso to an opponent season-low .368 field goal percentage … conversely, the Irish posted their best road field goal percentage of the season (.453) … Tuesday’s game marked just the second time all season Notre Dame didn’t force at least 20 opponent turnovers (19 by Bowling Green on Nov. 13) … this season, the Irish are: 5-0 when leading at the half, 5-0 when shooting a higher percentage than their opponent and 8-0 when making more free throws than the opposition … Notre Dame’s bench also outscored its Valparaiso counterparts by an 18-11 count, marking the ninth time in 11 games the Irish have won the battle of second units (8-1 record) … Notre Dame concludes a four-game stretch against in-state opponents with a 3-1 record, defeating Purdue, IUPUI and Valparaiso, while losing a narrow three-point decision to Indiana.